Program Overview

Communication, Media and Culture (with Foundation Year)

BA (Hons)

Overview

This course is designed for students who are passionate about the media and cultural industries. It begins with a foundation year in humanities, where students build their academic skills before progressing to degree-level study. The course explores how media technology is rapidly changing the world and develops tools for analyzing the power of major organizations and their influence on audiences.

Course Details

Course Structure

The course consists of a foundation year and three years of degree-level study. In the foundation year, students build confidence and develop academic skills while studying a broad introduction to the humanities, culture, and society. In the first year of the degree, students explore how media and culture shape everyday life, applying critical thinking to issues that matter to them. In the second year, students develop strategic awareness by analyzing case studies and applying their learning to social issues. In the final year, students deepen their critical skills and complete a research project on a topic that inspires them.

Learning and Teaching

Students learn through a mixture of lectures, workshops, group seminars, expert tutorials, and online methods. They develop a close working relationship with their tutors and receive regular feedback on their learning.

Assessment

Students are assessed 100% by coursework, which includes portfolios of creative and investigative work, news broadcasts, media and audience research reports, reflective journals, presentations, case studies, blogs, contributions to online forums, group work, and more.

Careers

The course prepares students for a variety of rewarding careers in branding, marketing and advertising, public relations, audience research, journalism, media broadcasting, education, publishing, fundraising, and community development. Previous graduates have gone on to work at leading organizations such as the BBC, MailOnline, Save the Children UK, Channel 5, LEGO UK, and the Washington Post.

Entry Requirements

• UCAS Tariff Points: 48
• A Level: DD
• IB Points: 24
• BTEC: PPP or MP

Tuition Fees

• Home (UK) full time: £5,760 (Foundation); £9,535 (Degree)
• Home (UK) part time: £720 per single module (Foundation); £1,190 per single module (Degree)
• International full time: £16,750

Funding Your Studies

The university offers various funding opportunities, including the Oxford Brookes Bursary for Continuing Students, Undergraduate maintenance loans for part-time UK students, Undergraduate maintenance loans for full-time UK students, and Undergraduate tuition fee loans for UK students.

Additional Costs

• Print/binding costs for coursework submission: £30
• Books to support studies: £20-60 per book
• Accommodation fees in Brookes Letting: £94-265 per week
• Accommodation fees in university halls: £122-180 per week
• Graduation costs: £0-200
• Travel to and from university for classes: £10

Modules

Foundation Year

• Being Human: Love, Sex and Death
• Cultural Moments
• Language, Vision and Representation
• The Reflective Learner
• Research Project
• Nation and Identity

Year 1

• Producing and Editing Text for Publication
• Investigating Communication, Media, and Culture
• Understanding Communication
• Understanding Culture: Identity, Representation and Power
• Understanding Media

Year 2

• Digital Media and Youth Identities
• Persuasive Communication
• Audiences, Users and Producers
• Research Methods

Optional Modules

• Understanding Digital Cultures
• Theory of Knowledge
• Media and Crime
• Creative Writing (Introduction)
• Web Design
• Organisations and the Creative Industries
• Making News: Studio Broadcasting
• Language, Culture and Globalisation
• Communication for Justice
• Culture, Gender and Sexuality
• Independent Study in Communication, Media and Culture
• Work-related Learning Project

Final Year

• Dissertation
• Branded Communication: Collectivity and Identity
• Citizen Journalism and Civic Engagement
• The Politics of Visual Culture
• Culture Wars: Power and Exclusion
• Subject to Culture 1: Individuality and Identity
• Subject to Culture 2: Selfhood and Subjectivity
• Ethnicity and the Media
• Independent Study in Communication, Media and Culture

Research Areas

The course covers a range of research areas, including:

• Communication and media studies
• Cultural studies
• Media and cultural industries
• Digital cultures
• Identity and representation
• Power and exclusion
• Ethnicity and media representation

Study Abroad

The university offers opportunities for students to study abroad, experience a new culture, and apply their skills in different contexts to enhance their employability.